Hoodwinked
by Stars in Noctem
Summary: Barry Allen is learning the costs of what it means to be a hero. Not only are his relationships and job at risk, but his mind as well. Believing that he's alone, Barry begins to isolate himself from others. However, when a girl shows up with too many questions, Barry starts to think there's more to her than she's letting on. But can he trust her? No pairings so far...


**I.**

"Are you coming over for dinner tomorrow night?"

Barry nodded his head, leaning against the open door. "The day I miss a Sunday dinner with you guys is the day the world ends," he laughed. _Which I really hope isn't anytime soon._

"Good," said Joe. The detective stood silent for a moment, hands awkwardly fidgeting in his pockets as he looked down on the young man he considered nothing less of a son. "Barry –"

"Be safe? Yeah, I know. Everyone seems to be saying that lately," Barry said with a playful roll of his eyes.

Joe smirked and patted Barry's shoulder. "I was going to say it was nice talking, getting everything out on the table tonight, but that too. I know I can't stop you from living this dual life now as the Streak or whatever it is the media will decide to call you." Joe paused for a moment and blinked. He was still adjusting to the fact that this was all real, that Barry could now run faster than a plane, that people now had real-life superpowers. It was going to take some time for the old fashion cop to stomach all that information.

"I like the Flash," Barry chimed in with a grin.

"The Flash? How'd you come up with that?" Joe asked with a raised eyebrow.

Barry shrugged. "I have a friend who's familiar with the process of creating a good name."

Joe was going to ask if this friend was a metahuman as well – Joe was pretty sure that was what those kids at S.T.A.R. Labs were calling them anyways – but he decided that was a question for another time. "Barry, just know that I do believe in you and that no matter what, you will always be my son."

"I know, Joe. Thank you." Barry rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. He and Joe, it seemed, hadn't really shared such a heart-to-heart conversation for years, not since Barry had left for college.

Joe nodded and turned to leave. "See you tomorrow then."

"Night, Joe," Barry finished and closed the door to his apartment.

Barry was quick to throw out the pizza boxes and began to clean up. Barry wasn't one for dirty living areas; when working in the science field, there was no room for messes. Everything needed to be organized and well kept.

When finished with the last of the dishes, Barry walked over to his tackboard and pulled at the bottom of the Central City map so that it snapped and rolled back up, revealing all the pictures and articles he had hidden underneath. A red string trailed from various pictures and articles, showing the connections Barry was making them all.

Normally at this time of night, Barry would look at the board and try to find new leads or possibilities that could explain what happened to his family all those years ago. He would look to find his father's innocence in the web of impossible and unexplainable. Barry knew that somewhere, somehow, he would find the man who killed his mother. But that wasn't what he was going to do tonight.

Taking the pins out of a few newspaper clippings and moving them over slightly, Barry made room on the board in the lower right-hand corner. In the new space he tacked on a blank piece of paper. Grabbing a marker from the table, he began to scrawl on it. When he was done, he capped the marker and looked at what he had written.

_KNOWN METAHUMANS_

_Clyde Mardon/Weather Wizard – Atmokinesis. __**Deceased**_

_Danton Black/Multiplex – Cellular Replication. __**Deceased**_

Barry cocked his head to the side and bit on the end of the pen. It had barely been a month and already there had been two other metahumans that Barry had faced and battled. Looking at the word "deceased" by both their names made Barry feel a pang of guilt. He was the reason that they were both dead.

It wasn't that he didn't think Mardon and Black were good people – hell, both of them had tried (and almost succeeded) at killing Barry – but still, Barry wasn't comfortable knowing that he was responsible for two deaths. It wasn't something he was used to. It was something he hoped he wouldn't have to face normally from there on out.

_Just how many others are out there?_ With the explosion of the particle accelerator dispersing black matter all throughout the city and conceivably elsewhere, it was impossible to know how many people were affected. He worried that there were people out there now, struggling with the after effects of the explosion and trying to cope with their newfound abilities. Barry wanted to help them, he knew that much.

_I just hope that every new metahuman won't be a criminal._

He continued to look at the list and thought to himself. There was something missing. Barry leaned forward and added to the list quickly.

_Barry Allen/The Flash – Superhuman Speed and Rapid Cellular Regeneration._

He didn't know how he felt about adding his name to a list that consisted of dead men, but it only seemed fair that his own name was up there as well. He was no exception.

The phone then rang, startling Barry. He glanced at the clocked and saw that it was nearly two o'clock in the morning. He picked up the receiver and saw the caller I.D. _I should have known. Who else would be calling at this hour? _

Answering the phone, Barry smiled. "You two need to learn about what sleep is."

"Sleep is overrated," a feminine voice replied. "You need to get down here. We have a situation."

Barry nodded. "You got it. I'll be there in a flash." And before the person on the other line could sigh from the lame pun, Barry hung up the phone turned into a blur as he ran out the door.

* * *

><p>Mira smiled partly at the view.<p>

Pulling out a brass Zippo from her coat pocket, she flicked open the lid and snapped her thumb down on the metal wheel, igniting it. With strong winds coming from off the waters below, she had just enough time to light the thin cigarette held between her lips before the small flame went out. The girl leaned back against the painted rails on the pedestrian walkway and slowly breathed in the nicotine she had craved for the past few hours. _I really need to quit,_ she thought before taking another drag.

At twenty-five, Mira Knight was tall and stood with a defensive posture. Her dark hair was pulled strictly into a ponytail, not a single hair out of place; her green eyes were bloodshot from lack of sleep but wide with excitement as she watched the city before her begin to light up as twilight turned to dusk. At her feet rested a grey duffel bag that contained all her worldly possessions.

The large, multi-lane suspension bridge she stood on overlooked the waterfront of the Missouri River. It was quiet out and not many people were around. A few cars passed here and there, but for the most part the streets were empty. It was late and a Tuesday; Mira suspected that most people would've been home after a long day at work by now, having dinner with their family or resting on the couch watching the Diamonds play the Gotham Knights on TV. Mira remembered what it was like to have a home to go to and not have a single care in the world, to have a family waiting for her at the end of the day. She missed that.

Mira shook her head. Things were different now – though for better or for worse, she still wasn't sure. All she knew was that from this point forward she was starting over, forging a new path. She wasn't going to let her past define her anymore. With another deep drag, Mira let the smoke fill her lungs completely before pulling the orange filter away from her lips to exhale. _Things will get better,_ she told herself, her gaze focused on the Central City skyline that rose from the horizon before her. _I'm finally here._

Central City was a place Mira had believed she would never see again. The idea of returning after so many years brought back bittersweet memories. She was still deciding on whether she could call it home.

It was only a year or so ago that Mira learned the truth to her past and she had to remind herself that the memories she did have as a child were actually more convoluted and dark than what she remembered. Knowing what she knew now… it made her shiver to think about such things. Nonetheless, Central City brought back feelings of nostalgia that she couldn't will away. It was the place where some of her greatest memories were made. And knowing the truth now still didn't change everything.

The wind picked up the tousled Mira's hair into a mess; she tried pulling up the collar of her coat to protect her neck but the winds were too strong. She looked up at the darkening sky and frowned when she saw large, grey clouds taking form. There was a storm coming. With the weather turning so suddenly, Mira decided that it was time to move; she still had quite a way to go before calling it a night and she did not want to be caught in the rain while wearing her good pair of jeans. With a sigh, she tossed her half-used cigarette onto the cement ground and crushed it with her boot.

She picked up her bag on hoisted it on her shoulder. The heavy sky then opened and began to downpour as she began walking the last length of the bridge. _It's time to get some answers, _Mira thought. And she was determined to get them, no matter what it took.


End file.
